Lisa Marie Presley's grief counselor: Here's how she dealt with her son's death

Lisa Marie Presley and David Kessler brought grief together

Many people mourn the daughter of the King of Rock'n'Roll Elvis Presley († 42) and Priscilla Presley (77), including numerous celebrities . But friends and companions also have their say, including David Kessler, grief counselor and author of several books on the subject of grief and farewell. Lisa Marie Presley had him after that tragic suicide of her son Benjamin in 2020 contacted. “I met Lisa Marie after her son Ben died. She wanted to speak to me, not because I was a grief expert, but because I was someone who had also experienced the death of a child,' David Kessler shared on Instagram. It became 'an unlikely friendship, but that's the thing about grief,' he continues.

'She had her challenges, but she always rose to them'

David Kessler describes in detail how Lisa Marie Presley dealt with her grief, which she once said 'totally shattered my heart and my soul and practically shattered it to nothing'. In fact, the grieving mother had tried to use her horrific experiences to help and support other people in her situation. David Kessler reports: “She attended my bereavement counseling program and many who met and spoke to her had no idea who she was. To her, she was a mother whose son had died and who wanted to turn her pain into something meaningful. For the past two years, she has been running grief groups with me at her home for other grieving parents.” He continues, “We were planning to do a podcast about grief together. Her family, her love of music, preserving her father's legacy and helping others became her priorities.'

Just a few days before her death, David Kessler accompanied Lisa Marie Presley to the Elvis estate Graceland in Memphis, where she wanted to celebrate her father's 88th birthday. It was also important to her to visit the graves of her father and son who are both buried there . She also wanted to meet a grieving mother who had just lost a child. 'Helping others in their grief' was a big concern for Lisa Marie Presley, describes the grief counselor. Then she showed him where she wanted to be buried : “On Saturday evening we sat at the graves of her father and son. We spoke about the pain she grew up with and the recent shock of the death of her son. She showed me where she would be buried one day. I said it was a long time away... and she said: Yes, I still have so much to do.' Shortly afterwards she is dead.

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